IC-Prologue-See Emily Play(Alan Gains only)

[dualshock71]

Alan handed O'Malley a fiver, then hurried into the building. Even if trying to represent the young man was just a cover, Alan was a professional at heart, and it'd nag at him if he didn't handle this like any lawyer would. He had to get in there before the cops could pump Brian for information.

And there was that odd old man as well. It might be worth it to try to speak to him as well. There was something...odd...about him.

[Mr. Handy]

Alan hurried through the main entrance into a vestibule area with glass doors on the west and east sides. A window was in the north wall near the west door, and behind it sat a uniformed sergeant. "Can I help you, sir?" he asked.

OOC,[b]Alan[/b], roll Credit Rating if you want to try to get the sergeant to let you inside.

[dualshock71]

OOC,Roll(1d100)+0: 66,+0 Total:66 Should have got a better credit rating.

[Mr. Handy]

OOC,You should also roleplay this out by having your character speak, rather than simply rolling the dice (even though you failed the roll). That way I'll know how the sergeant should respond to you. 55% is decent for Credit Rating, but even 65% would have failed with the number you rolled.

[dualshock71]

OOC,Many apologies once again.

Alan attempted to give the sergeant manning the window a disarming grin.

"Ah yes. My name is Alan Gains, lawyer. I'm here to meet a client of mine who was brought here."

[Mr. Handy]

OOC,That's okay.

"Uh huh," said the sergeant, sounding bored. "What's your client's name?"

[dualshock71]

"A young man named Brian Anderson. I understand that he was brought in here quite recently. By Lieutenant Yeager and Sergeant Rawlings, if my memory doesn't fail me entirely."

[Mr. Handy]

"Quite recently?" said the sergeant. "They just walked in here a few minutes ago. How is it that you got here so quickly?"

OOC,[b]Alan[/b], roll Fast Talk.

[dualshock71]

OOC,Roll(1d100)+0: 29,+0 Total:29. Phew.

Alan's quick mind hit upon an idea.

"I know. Believe me, I know. But that kid's nothing but trouble. He's so bad that his father's hired a permanent representative for him. The guy before me had a nervous breakdown before the end. So, I figured I'd nip that one in the bud, check in on the kid every so often. I was just lucky enough to be there when the officers nabbed him." Alan gave a practiced sigh and let his shoulders slump a little. "They've even got good evidence, too. Probably going to get fired for this, but I figure I might as well give it my best shot, eh?"

Alan said all this as rapidly as he could while still remaining casual. He'd found that it was a good tactic in situations like these. Even if it hadn't worked on the last recruiter...

[Mr. Handy]

The sergeant nodded. "Okay, I'll buzz you in," he said. He pressed a button at his desk and a buzzing sound came from the west door. "Come around to the security desk."

Alan opened the door and walked through before the buzzing stopped. The door closed automatically when he released it. The lobby of police headquarters was huge, with brown wood paneling. To the right was the security desk, behind which the sergeant who had buzzed him in and a couple of police officers sat. On the left was a memorial with many photos of officers who had fallen in the line of duty. Most of them were black and white, but the later ones were in color. Straight ahead and at the back were a pair of elevators with rounded walls, one on either side. Between the elevators was a large floor-to-ceiling window that looked out on Race Street, and in front of it was a large board with a portrait of Commissioner Frank Rizzo.

"Here's a visitor's pass," said the sergeant, handing Alan a laminated card with a clip on the reverse side. "Just clip that onto your lapel. Officer Jackson, would you please escort Mr. Gains down to the cells to see the prisoner?"

"Yes, sergeant," said one of the cops behind the desk. He stood up and led Alan to the elevators, where he pressed the down call button. "These elevators are slow as molasses. Don't suppose it matters, though. They won't be finished processing your client and cleaning him up yet, so you'd have to wait anyway. I took him down there myself just a few minutes ago."

[dualshock71]

Alan gave an almost imperceptible sigh of relief at that.

"You should see what my old office was like. I swear, you could wait for hours for the damned things." While chatting up the officer, Alan was tying up the last steps of his plan. He would enter into the room and take charge before the young man could call his bluff (and, if the kid was half as bad as Alan believed, he might not even try to do that). He'd offer to represent him, then use that link to get to Dr. Anderson and pursue the Emily Simmons case.

And maybe he'd talk to the old man as well. Alan still could not shake the feeling that there was something...different about the man. Was he crazy, drunk, high on something? If for no other reason, Alan would speak to him because his curiosity was just too great to contain.

[Mr. Handy]

Finally, the elevator arrived, and Alan and Officer Jackson got in. Jackson pressed the B button, and the elevator slowly descended to the basement. When it arrived, the doors slid open to let them out.

A hall led to a large metal door with a barred window. In front of this door sat another sergeant at a desk. "Sarge, this is Mr. Gains," said Jackson. "He's representing Brian Anderson, and he'd like to see his client."

"Let me see if they're done processing him yet," said the sergeant. "That was quick. They only brought him in like ten minutes ago." He picked up the phone on his desk and dialed a number. "This is Sergeant Hastings," he said. "There's a Mr. Gains here to see his client, Brian Anderson. Is he...presentable yet?" He paused for a response. "Uh huh. Okay, I'll let him know." He hung up the phone. "They cleaned him up and changed him into a prison uniform. Right now he's making his phone call, but he should be done in a minute."

[dualshock71]

"Thank you very much, Sergeant." Alan walked towards an out-of-the-way corner to wait for the young man to finish his call.

[Mr. Handy]

A minute later, the phone on the desk rang again, and Sergeant Hastings answered it. "Uh huh," he said. "Thanks." He hung up. "Your client's done his phone call. You can go on in." He pressed a switch, and the metal door slid open with a rumbling sound. The hallway continued beyond it.

"This way," said Officer Jackson. He led Alan through the door and down the hall, into a guard room. Two uniformed policemen stood guard there, one a young black man about six feet tall, the other one pasty-faced, chubby, and a head shorter. The hallway continued beyond the guard room into a cell block. Several wooden doors lined the sides of the guard room, and a payphone was in one corner. "We're looking for Brian Anderson," said Jackson.

"Over there," said the black cop, pointing at one of the doors.

Jackson nodded and led the way, opening the door for Alan. Inside was a small, square room. The only furniture was a wooden table and two matching chairs, one in front of it and one behind it. Brian Anderson sat dejectedly on the chair behind the table, wearing a gray prison uniform. He looked up when Alan entered.

"I'll leave you to it, then," said Jackson. "Let me know when you're done." He shut the door.

"Who the hell are you?" said Brian.

OOC,[b]Alan[/b], roll Psychology.

[dualshock71]

OOC,Roll(1d100)+0: 7,+0 Total:7. My program loves me this game. It's usually far worse than this...

"I'm your lawyer, Brian. I'm here to try to get you out of your little mess."

[Mr. Handy]

Alan could tell that while Brian carried himself with an air of bravado, it was just a mask. Inside, he was confused, desperate, and downright terrified. His eyes showed that he knew that his life was ruined, and that nothing would ever be the same for him again. And behind them there burned an intense thirst for revenge on whoever it was he believed had wronged him.

"Little mess?" said Brian incredulously. "I'm being charged with attempted murder, among other things!" He paused. "Wait a minute, how can you be my lawyer? I only just got here ten minutes ago!"

OOC,[b]Alan[/b], roll Fast Talk.

[dualshock71]

OOC,Roll(1d100)+0: 97,+0 Total:97 His skills are failing him now, it seems.

Alan tried to affect a calming tone, hoping to wind the boy down a little, but he was not entirely sure he'd done a good enough job of it.

"True, and now you've got someone offering you help. Do you want to rot in here, or would you rather accept what I'm offering? Do you want to spend the rest of your life behind bars...or, perhaps, do you want to help me put some real bad guys away?"

OOC,In place of fast-talk, could I try a Persuade roll instead? It seems appropriate for here.

[Mr. Handy]

Brian scowled. "This is a trick!" he shouted. "You're one of the cops, trying to get me to talk! Well, it won't work!"

OOC,[b]Alan[/b], in order to get [b]Brian[/b] to open up, you'll need to talk to him for a while longer and roll Persuade.

[dualshock71]

Alan sighed, fighting off the urge to get angry at the young man. Looking back, he had moved in a little too quickly. "Look before you leap" had never been an saying he'd kept close to his heart. Still, he needed to give it another go.

"Brian, might I point something out? Were I with the cops, would I honestly show up ten minutes after you'd been brought in, claiming to be your lawyer? You gotta admit, it'd be kind of stupid of them."

[Mr. Handy]

"Maybe you would," said Brian. "The cops are kinda stupid. It makes a hell of a lot more sense than some guy I've never seen before walking in out of the blue ten minutes after I get here really being my lawyer."